Sunday, November 18, 2012

Bonobo

Bonobo | The bonobo is a large species of primate that is only found in the Democratic Republic Of The Congo in central Africa. The bonobo is also known as the pygmy chimpanzee and the dwarf chimpanzee as the bonobo is thought to be very closely related to the chimpanzee and the two species share
very similar characteristics. The bonobo is thought to have evolved
from the ancestors of the common chimpanzee millions of years ago when
the Congo River was formed. Today, the bonobo lives south of the Congo
river and chimpanzees live north of the river meaning that they have
evolved as two separate species.

Along with the chimpanzee, the bonobo is believed to be one of the closet living relatives of the human. The bonobo shares
97% of the same DNA that makes up humans and the bonobo displays very
similar behaviour to humans as far as social interaction and
reproduction are concerned. Along with a number of other primate species (including humans) the bonobo has opposable thumbs which allow it to grip onto food and trees.

The bonobo is smaller than the chimpanzee with adult bonobos averaging
around 70cm in height and weight roughly 40kg, The bonobo has black
hair covering it's body that is parted on it's head, pink lips and long
legs. Generally, the body of the bonobo is not as hairy as the body of
their chimp cousins. The bonobo is an omnivorous animal mainly feeding
on vegetation such as fruits, leaves, flowers, bark and seeds. The
bonobo also eats honey, eggs, insects and even small mammals and
reptiles. The bonobo has also been known to turn to cannibalism (eats
other bonobos) in captivity but it is unknown whether or not this
happens in the wild.

Due to it's large size and the ability of the bonobo to escape into trees, the bonobo has few natural predators
in the African forests. The main predators of the bonobo are humans who
hunt the bonobo for it's meat and the odd crocodile when the bonobo
gets close to the water. It is thought that other large primates may
prey on the bonobo in the wild but that will often be down to
disagreements over territory that turn nasty. As with many other species
of large primate, the bonobo spends a great deal of
time on the ground looking for food and resting with the bonobo troop.
Bonobos are also known to climb into the trees if they feel threatened
or are search of culinary delicacies such as honey.

Bonobos inhabit areas of the forest in troops which usually contain the alpha male bonobo,
a number of females bonobos and their offspring. The bonobo troop feed
together and warn off unwelcome animals along with social interacting
through calls and grooming. Female bonobos breed roughly once every few
of years and there has been not specific breeding season observed. After
a gestation period of around 8 months, the female bonobo gives
birth a single bonobo baby. The bonobo baby is nursed and cared for by
the mother bonobo until it is between 3 and 6 years old. The male bonobo
babies are known to be more dependent on their mothers and the female
bonobo babies are more independent at a younger age. A female bonobo can
expect have between 5 and 7 babies in her 40 years lifespan.

Today, the bonobo is considered
to be endangered animal with only 10,000 bonobo individuals thought to
be left in the wild. The bonobo populations have declined dramatically
due to hunting an habitat loss. The civil unrest in the region has also
made the bonobo populations more vulnerable.